Apparatus for drying animal casings



March ,1940. L. DIMOVND 2,192,898

APPARATUS FOR mums mxm. GASINGS Filed m. 5, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Ni fiaewr ZZgydZZz'mzaZ- March 12, 1940. LE. DIMOND APPARATUS mn'mu'me Axum CASINGS Filed Jan. 5. 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet '2 Zz aydfflzmfl mm, M w.

Patented Mar. 12, 1940 UNITED STATES 2,192,898 v APPARATUS FOR DRYING ANIMAL CASINGS Lloyd E. Dimond, Chicago, 111., assignor to Wilson & 00., a corporation of Delaware Application January 5,

6 Claims.

This invention relates to an apparatus for drying animal casings. The apparatus is designed to be used for preparing the casings described in the copending application of Nicholas M. Adams,

Ser. No. 243,467, filed December 1, 1938.

Animal intestines, commonly called casings, have heretofore been prepared by cleaning them and then packing them in a large ambunt of salt, and keeping them under refrigeration. Salted casings so prepared generally will not spoil, but the bacterial count thereon is very high, generally running about three million per gram. Moreover, salt burns take place in the casings, in some instances causing holes or weakened spots in the'casing depending upon the severityot the salt burn. The greatest disadvantage with salted casings is the large amount of salt required and the resultant great expense of trans: portation. An ordinary tierce will weigh about 600 pounds, of which only about 60 pounds will be represented by the casings themselves upon a dry basis, the rest being salt and moisture. H

In the prior art practice, and particularly sheep, hog and goat casings, the casings are pulled from the animal, stripped inwater, cleaned on special machines immediately; the casings are then taken and graded as to size and quality, after which they are salted, drained, and then packed with salt, either with or without previous curing in a pickle solution. The salted casings are then placed in wooden tierces, as already described.

In accordance with the present invention, the necessity of salting and refrigeration is entirely 35 done away with. In place of the salt, the casings are air-dried to a predetermined moisture content, and are then packed, preferably in the absence of air.

A very simple and quickly applied natural test fora suitable moisture content has been discovered, namely, that when the casings are dry enough so that their folds do not stick together upon contact, they are dry enough to'keep.

4,5 The apparatus is shown in the drawings in which Fig. 1 illustrates a sideelevation, partly in section and partially broken away, of the drying device with a casing being treated in it; Fig. 2 is an end view of the drying chamber in 50 closed position; Fig. 3 is a similar view with the chamber open;. Fig. 4 is a side elevation partly broken away showing the mandrel in raised position; Fig. 5 is a view on a large scale of the left-hand portion of the device as shown in Fig.

. 1, with the chamber in section; and Fig. 6 is a 1939, Serial No. 249,522

similar view of the remainder of the device, as shown in Fig. 1. I a

The apparatus comprises a drying-chamber iii provided with a central tube II which extends beyond the chamber proper to form a chimney portion 40.. That portion of the tubel l which is within-the chamber is perforated with a large number of small holes 4i and acts as a baiiie to distribute warm air which is. supplied through the line I! and enters the chamber at 20. The outer wall 42 of the chamber l0 and the central tube ll thus form an annular header or manifold surrounding a central opening 42 within the heating chamber.

The heating chamber arrangement shown'provides a gentle evenlydistributed heating action. While the device does not employ the usual countercurrent flow of gases, it introduces somewhat warmer and dryer gas at the beginning, and greater volumes of the cooler, wetter gas at the end of the chamber. l

At the rear end of the chamber the central openingis partially closed by an annular rubber plate 30, the plate being provided, however, with a central opening 4| just large enough to accommodate an inflated casing. A mandrel i2 is likewise provided and consists of a long, hollow, tubular portion 45 and a relatively short expanded base portion 46. The diameter of the base portion is substantially that of the opening 44 in the plate 30. A stop 41 is provided on the base pcr-v tion and rearwardly thereof the mandrel is pivotally connected at 48 to an air blower M.

The heating chamber I0 is hinged at 49 and may be lifted'by the handle 50 into the position shown in Fig. 3. When the heating chamber is in open position the mandrel may be lifted into the position shown in Fig, 4 and when in this position a casing may be gathered upon the thickened portion t6 thereof. The mandrel may then be returned to its normal position and the heating chamber closed.

Beginning at the free end of the mandrel and continuing back throughout that portion of the mandrel within the heating chamber are a large number or small perforations l3 through which air is supplied from the mandrel to the inside of the casing. Associated with the outlet H are a pair of rollers it and H mounted in any suitable fashionand driven in any suitable manner which'serve both to deflate the casing passing through them and to motivate the. casing through that part of the apparatus preceding these rollers (viz., to

2 aiaaeee reel l8 which maybe driven in any suitable manner.

In starting the casing through the apparatus, the free end of the casing is closed with a string which is extended through the apparatus and placed between the motivating rollers i6 and I1. When the casing has projected through the rollers ifi'and I! to the point where it can be readily attached to the reel iii, the string is detached and the casing is attached to the. reel i8. Reel i8 is actuated sothat as the drying operation progresses, the casing is wound tightly on the reel, but the driving mechanism is frictionally disengaged, in known manner, so that as the diameter of the core increases the wheel is driven only the required amount. Reel l8 and rollers i6 and i! are propelled by independent means at suitable rates of speed.

Only very little air passes through the blower fan I, the purpose of this being to free the casing from the mandrel and to keep it inflated. Hog

and sheep casings, which are the ones primarily.

treated upon this apparatus, are so porous that they will not remain inflated for a verylong period without the addition of a fresh supply of air.

The amount of air supplied to the line i9 is preferably about cubic feet per minute of air at 140 F. and 15 to relative humidity. When the air is supplied at this rate, thecasings are advanced at therate of about 2 feet per minute. The temperature of the casing, however, never quite reaches the temperature of the air.

The extension of the tube li provides a chimney-effect wherein the air which, by that time,.has absorbed a good deal of moisture and is relatively saturated, acts to bring the outer and inner portions of the casing into closer equilibrium as to moisture content, and provides .a better finished casing.

The drying temperature, however, is not criti-, cal. It can be varied between '70 and 160 and the relative humidity may vary from, say, 5 to 40%. Likewise, the air velocity may vary from 5 to 30 cubic feet per minute, or within wider ranges if otherconditions are controlled.

"reel, the casing is packed in the absence of air without salt. Preferably this is done in a substantial vacuum, say 22-29 inches of mercury. However, inert gases such as nitrogen may be used in the place of vacuum.

- If the dried casings are left in air for a prolonged period, the protein material gradually loses its ability to soak or plump freely in movement.

water without the addition of alkali or acids. The vacuum packed or inert gas packed material 7 does not act in this'manner. Even after many months it may be handled like fresh material.

It is thus possible to eliminate the large 5' amounts of salt heretofore required, and also to save nine-tenths of the freight and a great deal of expense for salt, tierces, and the costs of refrigeration. At the same time, the casings themselves are actually better than before and 10 are more sanitary from a bacteriological standpoint, the bacterial count on a casing prepared according to this invention being only about 3% of that of asalted casing.

The casingsmay be subdivided longitudinally 15 or transversely and employed in sausage making, surgical sutures, tennis or other strings, or any other casing use. I

I claim: I

1. Apparatus for drying porous animal casings 20 comprising a hollow mandrel, means for supplying airto the hollow mandrel, one end of the mandrel being adapted for gathering a casing thereon and the other end portion being provided with a plurality of small perforations, a heating 26 chamber about the perforated'end of the mandrel, means for supplying warm, dry air to the heating chamber, and means for progressively drawing a casing from the mandrel and through the chamber.

' 2. Apparatus as set forth inclaim 1 in which the chamber is provided with an elongated chimney on that side from which the casing is drawn. I

3. Apparatus for drying animal casings com-. prising a mandrel provided with an enlarged portion and a relatively .sinaller diameter portion provided with a plurality of perforations, said mandrel being hollow throughout the perforated area, means for supplying air to the interior of the a mandrel, a heating chamber substantially surrounding the perforated portion of the mandrel, and means for drawing a casing through the heating chamber.

4; Apparatus as set forth in claim 3 in which (I comprising a mandrel adapted for the gathering of a wet casing thereon, means for continuously supplying air to the interior of the casing, means for withdrawing the casing from the mandrel,

.means for surrounding a portion of the exterior of the withdrawn casing with a current of warm f dry air traveling in the direction of the move- W ment of the casing, means for adding warm dry air to the current to increase the volume thereof.

and means for passing theenlarged volume of air, cooled and moistened by contact with the casing; without further additions of warm air, around the casing and in the direction of its 1.1mm E. nmonn. 1 

